Vacation revelations
by Emma-face
Summary: The team earn themselves an all expenses paid vacation to a destination of their choice! Expect many ships, much fun, some drunken antics and a surprise revelation for some of the CSIs! Don't knock it til you've read it!
1. Greg's big news

**A/N: **Ok so it's not so much a sequel to California here we come - more like a similar story...the idea came to me when I was thinking of plausable ways the team could end up on vacation together but since it didn't fit with my pre-cannon story I left it! It's set after Kiss-kiss, Bye bye...cannon GSR and knowing me there'll be some YoBling and Sofia/Brass in there too...let me know if I should continue!

* * *

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Greg ran into the break room, waving his arms wildly and screaming excitedly. After a long, tiring shift all he got in response was four not-very-amused faces staring back at him. Greg stood at the head of the table willing one of them to ask him what was going on. Knowing it was killing him, the guys refrained from asking. Letting out a heavy sigh Greg gave an exasperated "Come on!"

"Alright what is it Greg?" Sara asked half-heartedly; she was much too tired for Greg right now. Standing up tall Greg tried to control himself.

"Well I'm glad you asked Sara!" He said smoothly. "Because I have some big news!" He grinned.

"Wait!" Greg looked around the room and sighed heavily. "Where's Grissom?"

"In his office, doing paperwork." Sara answered without looking up.

"Go get him!" Instructed Greg. "He needs to be here for this!" Sara glared at him for a second then trudged off to get Grissom, figuring that she would be a more welcomed distraction than the hyperactive Greg. She didn't want Greg being killed before they heard what he had to say.

"Nick! You need to go get Brass and Sofia. They should be here too." Greg now gave orders to Nick who looked at him in disbelief. Sighing again Greg cursed them all for not complying to his plan. "Just do it Nicky! It'll be worth it I promise." Nick gave one last questioning look and then went off in search of the detectives.

-

"Hey."

Grissom looked up from his paperwork to the owner of that soft voice that had distracted him.

"Hi." He smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She smiled back at him.

"Greg has some uh...big news, apparently." She chuckled softly remembering his entrance to the break room. "You have to come down there so we can hear what it is." His face screwed up at the thought. He was making good progress in the paperwork, if he stopped now he might not get back on track and he really wanted to have it finished by the end of shift. Knowing he was about to try and back out of coming with her she pre-empted him.

"Come on Griss. It'll only take a minute I'm sure. Please." She gave him the puppy dog eyes she knew he couldn't resist and added in a small, quiet voice. "For me." He sighed; there was no way he could have said no to her. He gave her a glare; she was using his weaknesses against him.

"Oh alright." He sighed and got up from his desk and followed her to the break room. When they got there everyone, including Brass and Sofia, was gathered around the table waiting patiently for Greg, who was standing at the head of the table, to fill them in on his 'Big News' Once Sara and Grissom had taken their seats and impatient Catherine spoke up.

"Okay Greg, we're all here now. So enlighten us, what's the big news?"

"Well Catherine, I will tell you." Greg started. A large grin spreading across his face as he fought hard to control his excitement. "Do you remember the Lois O'Neill case from a few weeks ago? When Sara and I found all that money hidden under the floor of her bedroom?" He asked and they all nodded. Lois O'Neill was a bit of a celebrity and quite a character so it had been a fairly memorable case. "Well then you will also know that the money was loot from when Tony C pulled off the famous Pan Am heist back in '65." Greg informed them, he had clearly rehearsed his speech. They stared back blankly trying to figure out where he was going with this.

"Well! I just got a call from the sheriff and he said that as a reward for finding the money they're going to send us all on a 2 week, all expenses paid vacation to a destination of our choice." He finished excitedly. Everyone around the table looked confused as they tried to register what he was saying.

"Are you serious?" Catherine was the first to ask the question running through all their minds.

"Totally!" Greg sat down triumphantly.

"This is unbelievable." Grissom said in shock.

"This is frickin' awesome!" Nick cried out, his excitement level growing parallel to Greg's. Greg nodded in agreement.

"So where do you wanna go?" He asked the group.

"Somewhere with sun, sea and sand." Catherine said dreamily.

"We live in the desert Cath; you don't get enough sun and sand?" Warrick teased her.

"Alright then tropical sun and sand." She retorted.

"Ok so a beach was pretty much given." Sara mediated. "But what else, we can't lie on the beach all day for 2 weeks."

"So somewhere with nightlife!" Greg raised his eyebrows and smiled and Nick nodded along with him. Sara rolled her eyes.

"How about somewhere with culture?" Of course it would be Grissom to make this suggestion.

"I'm sure we can find somewhere that covers all those things." Warrick thought hard.

"Actually..." Grissom's eyebrows drew together, as they did when he got an idea, and he got up from his seat and walked out of the room. The others looked around at each other, none of them quite certain what had just happened.

"Where'd he go?" Greg asked looking around confused.

"Who knows?" Sara smiled softly.

Minutes later Grissom returned with some pages in hand and finished his sentence.

"I think I know just the place." He announced, dropping the pages onto the table. Everyone picked one up and examined it. "Cape Town." He smiled. As did everyone else when the read what it said.

**'A sophisticated town where new and old converge harmoniously with its immense natural beauty and the fast pace and bright lights of a great urban centre meld effortlessly here.'**

"Sun, sea and sand." Sara smiled.

"And shopping! Well I'm sold!" Catherine said setting the piece of paper back down on the table.

"Me too!" Agreed Sofia.

"This place sounds perfect!" Nick also agreed.

"Great! So we're all agreed then?" Greg asked and everyone nodded. "Cape Town it is! I'm going to go call the sheriff!" He added excitedly before running out of the break room in the same fashion as he had entered.

"Strange boy!" Brass shook his head and laughed at the sight.

"Strange boy, who landed us all a free vacation." Catherine corrected him. Not long after he left Greg returned to the break room, breathless, telling them that the plans were being made. The rest of the shift was quiet on the crime front, which was perfect as it allowed the team to discuss their upcoming holiday.

Grissom excused himself from the group, wishing he could stay in the break room and discuss Cape Town with the rest of the group but knowing he had paper work to finish. Everyone else read and re-read the summary page of Cape Town that Grissom had printed for them and talked about all the things they could do while on holiday.

"Look at this beach." Sara said pointing out the photograph of the picturesque turquoise ocean and white sand beach.

"I know!" Cooed Catherine beside her. "And they have amazing shopping complexes." She added happily.

"Oh my God! They have elephants!" Greg cried out with the excitement of a small child. "Elephants!" He repeated. Everyone else just looked at him questioning his sanity.

-

Before the last hour of shift ended Greg received another phone call from the sheriff telling him that their vacation had been booked and giving him the details. He could barely compose himself to give the rest of them the details he was so giddy.

"We leave on Thursday morning, two days from now. Isn't that great! Two days! Oh! And we have Wednesday off to pack and stuff." He relayed the information while bouncing on the spot. "And...We're staying in a 5 star hotel, right on the beach. This is going to be great!" His excitement proved to be contagious as soon everyone was buzzing about going away. When shift finally ended they said their goodbyes and went home to make personal arrangements for the holiday. Once she was sure everyone had left Sara headed towards Grissom's office.

"Hey." She called softly from the door. She noticed that the paperwork pile was considerably smaller than the last time she had been in his office and felt proud of him.

"Hey." He answered, signing the last piece of paperwork he was going to do tonight. She walked further into his office and sat in the chair facing him.

"So the department is really going all out with this vacation, we're staying in a five star hotel and everything." She smiled filling him in on what he had missed. "We leave on Thursday and we have Wednesday off to prepare ourselves." She smiled. "I'm actually looking forward to this."

"Me too." He smiled stacking the paperwork up and moved it across the room. "Two weeks in an African paradise with you, how could I not be looking forward to it?" He smirked and she did likewise.

"Yeah, two weeks with me...and the rest of the team." She reminded him, getting up and standing beside him. Her proximity was killing him. Checking that the door was closed he snaked his arms around her waist.

"A small hitch in my plan." He joked. "Just means we'll have to be extra careful around them."

She nodded in agreement. "Although we've made it over a year without them suspecting, who knows if they'll ever figure it out."

"I know." Grissom frowned slightly. "I'm starting to think they're not very good at their jobs." She laughed slightly.

"No they're good." She stretched up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "We're just better."

Her breath was hot in his ear and she pressed herself against his body; it was driving him crazy. A low growl escaped his lips and all thoughts of the lab disappeared as he leant in and stole a kiss from her lips.

"Come on." He said after pulling away and leaving her breathless. "Let's go home."


	2. Planes and peanuts

**A/N: **Ok so, I have no concept of time differences or flight durations or any of that jazz so just go along with me on this ok?

* * *

There was only one case called in the next day, a robbery and assault on a security guard in a jewellery store, which Nick and Warrick went out to take care of. The rest of the team stayed in the lab finishing their final case reports before their big vacation.

"I can't do this!" Greg exclaimed throwing his paperwork down on the table. "I'm just too excited!" He shook; Greg really was just like a child sometimes. Catherine and Sara looked up from their own paperwork.

"Tell you what Greggo, why don't you put some of that energy of yours to use and do a coffee run?" Catherine suggested. Greg thought about it.

"Okay then I will!" He sprung up from his seat and bounced out of the room.

"Thank you!" Sara sighed when she was certain Greg was out of earshot.

"I know! Where the hell does he get all that...bounce from?" Catherine asked rubbing her head.

"I don't know. Must be that Blue Hawaiian coffee he drinks or something." Sara shook her head.

"Whatever it is I just needed a break from it." Catherine groaned. For the past hour and a half Greg had been restless, to say the least. It started with a few sighs every once in a while; that they could deal with. Then as time went on he started to fidget, tapping his foot, shaking his leg, clicking his pen; all of which was driving the two women crazy.

"Look on the bright side, at least shifts nearly over." Sara pointed out. They only had another ninety minutes of work left before their vacation.

"Yeah." Catherine smiled. "Do you think Grissom will let him go home early?" Catherine asked hopefully. Sara laughed.

"You can ask him." She shrugged.

"I think we'd have a better chance of getting what we wanted if you asked him." Catherine teased.

"What do you mean?" Sara gave the older woman a confused look. Catherine held her hands up and gave an innocent shrug.

"I'm just saying that Gil has a definite...soft spot for you." Catherine gave a small smile as Sara blushed slightly. _'If only you knew Cath.' _she laughed to herself.

"No he doesn't!" Sara said defensively, shaking off the comment. The conversation was interrupted by Greg's return with a tray off coffee cups. He handed out the coffee and informed them the remaining one was for Grissom.

"I'll bring it to him in his office." Greg volunteered.

"No! Page him to come get it." Catherine instructed him. "I'm sure he could do with a break." Grissom had been in his office since assignments trying to finish off the mountain of paperwork on his desk before they left. Greg paged him and sat back down and engaged in his newest restless activity, swinging on his chair.

"I heard there was coffee." Grissom's voice came from the doorway. They all turned to look at him.

"You were waiting for a distraction weren't you?" Sara smirked.

"No!" Grissom replied defensively. Sara gave him a look that broke him down. "Maybe." He admitted taking a seat at the table and reaching for his coffee. They talked about the impending trip; or rather Greg talked about the impending trip while Grissom, Sara and Catherine listened. When he paused to take a breath Grissom seized the opportunity to speak.

"You know, it's quiet tonight and there's only what 45 minutes left of shift. Why don't you guys take off early?" He suggested.

"Really?" Asked Catherine.

"Yeah go on. Just keep your cell phones on for the next 45 minutes. After that you can switch them off or throw them out if you want to because we are officially on vacation." He smiled.

"Thanks Boss!" Greg sang and wrapped his arms around Grissom's head from behind his seat. Greg liked the new boss.

"Let go Greg!" Grissom instructed him and he obliged then disappeared from the break room.

"Yeah thanks." Repeated Catherine, refraining from hugging Grissom she also left the room. Grissom looked at Sara. She smiled back at him.

"I'm going to head home too." She informed him. He nodded. "And you," she leaned forward and poked him in the chest, "better go and finish that paperwork!" She reminded him as she got up to leave. Pausing in the doorway she turned back and smiled.

"Don't be late." Was all she said before she disappeared down the hall leaving Grissom with new motivation to finish his paperwork.

-

The next day in the midst of all the packing Grissom and Sara noticed that they were missing a few essential items, he needed new sunglasses and Sara wanted new shorts and a bikini, so an impromptu trip to the mall was required.

Firstly they went in search of Grissom's new sunglasses before looking for new clothes for Sara. Shopping was a lot easier for him now, he just stood there and let Sara pick everything out for him making suggestions only when he felt like it. She picked out a pair of sunglasses for him that she told him made him look sexy and he bought them without question. They walked out of the store together and straight into Catherine.

"Last minute shopping as well?" She asked.

"Yeah." They both nodded, trying to act casually; for all Catherine knew they just bumped into each other. Before anyone had a chance to say anything else Warrick walked over to the group, thinking it was Catherine and two strangers he placed his hand on the small of her back when he greeted her. He quickly dropped his hand when he noticed that it was Sara and Grissom she was talking to.

"Wow! Seems like everyone is out shopping today." Sara joked. "All we need now is for Greg, Nick, Sofia and Brass to show up." Everyone chuckled and made small talk before excusing themselves to go their separate ways.

"You know I was thinking." Grissom spoke to Sara through a curtain as she tried on clothes in the changing room. "Maybe we don't have to work so hard at hiding our relationship on this holiday. Would it be so bad if everyone found out?" He asked.

"Well I don't think so. If you're ready for them to know." She called back through the curtain.

"Yeah I think I am." He said firmly. "I love you so much Sara, I'm sick of hiding it."

"Ok then." She smiled and stepped out of the dressing room wearing a tiny black bikini. Grissom stood up a little straighter when he saw her. Her legs, her waist, her hips, and so much skin on show it was driving him wild.

"We're buying that bikini!" He informed her with a low growl in his voice as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck. She giggled and slapped him off her and went back into the changing room to get dressed.

"Well then I think that's everything." She smiled after paying the clerk. His hand sat in the small of her back as they walked out to their car.

"You know Griss, I've been thinking." Sara began as he drove them back to their town house. "Maybe we shouldn't tell the guys out rightly about our relationship."

"Having second thoughts?" He asked.

"No, more like a better idea. I was thinking maybe we should just let our guard down and see if they figure it out first." She had a devilish glint in her eye when she spoke. A sneaky grin crossed Grissom's face.

"Yeah...let's have a little fun with our team of trained investigators, shall we?"

-

The next day they all met at the lab to be escorted to the airport. Sara and Grissom were the first to arrive, as usual, followed closely by Sofia and Brass.

"What? Greggo's not here yet?" Brass asked in shock. Everyone else laughed.

"He is now!" Sofia pointed out, motioning in the direction of the front entrance where Greg had just pulled up. He jumped out of his truck and bounded into the building.

"Everyone ready for vacation?" He shouted excitedly, waving his hands in the air. His face fell and his arms dropped when he noticed the small size of his audience. "Where's everyone else? Why aren't they here yet? They better not be late!" He was speaking so fast they struggled to make him out. Pulling out his cell phone he continued to mutter indignantly to himself as he dialled. The foursome looked at each other with amused smiles.

"It's ok!" Greg breathed a sigh of relief when he hung up the phone. "They're on their way." He flopped down into a seat beside Sara.

Shortly after the arrival of Catherine, Nick and Warrick a minibus arrived to take them to the airport.

"What no limo?" Greg asked at the sight of the minibus.

"Sorry Greggo!" Nick laughed at the younger man's hopefulness as they all piled into the mini bus. Grissom, Sara and Brass took the back seat while Warrick, Catherine and Sofia sat in the middle row, leaving Nick in the front to handle Greg. He was so giddy that by the time they got to the airport Nick was gritting his teeth and fighting hard to restrain himself from strangling him.

"We're here!" The youngest member of the team cried out when they pulled up at the airport.

"We can see that Greg!" Catherine shot him an evil look. The driver handed their tickets and accommodation information over to Grissom before getting back in the car and driving off at record speed, no doubt to get away from Greg.

The group checked in and were waiting in the departure lounge for their flight to be called. Greg babbled incessantly the whole time. When he went to the bathroom Grissom turned to the group and said as fast as he could, "I'm not sitting beside Greg on the plane!"

"Not it!" Sara, Brass and Sofia were the fastest to respond and they grinned to themselves.

"What no way! That doesn't count. That doesn't work!" Catherine looked furious.

"I'm afraid it does Cath!" Grissom said smugly. Nick and Warrick looked defeated as they contemplated the 6 hour flight with Greg!

-

On board the plane Grissom, Sara, Sofia and Brass sat in one row with Warrick, Nick, Greg and a very bemused looking Catherine sitting in front of them. They were almost two hours into the flight and Greg had been restlessly squirming and bouncing around in his seat the entire time.

"Would you sit still!" An irritated Nick snapped at him through gritted teeth.

"I can't help it I'm too excited!" Greg threw his arms wildly to the sides as he finished his sentence, hitting one of the cabin crew in the process.

"Shit! Sorry. Sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" He apologised to the scowling brunette.

"It's fine, sir!" She forced a smile.

"I didn't mean to I was just...and then...and sorry..." He babbled on.

She held her hands up to stop him.

"It's fine!" She sighed and walked off. Nick gave the stewardess an apologetic look and she returned it with one of sympathy. Greg returned to moving around in his seat.

"Seriously!" Nick snapped in exasperation. "Look, man let me out I'm going to the bathroom or to stretch my legs or something and don't be surprised if I'm not back for a while." He pushed his way past Greg's legs and headed towards the bathroom bumping into Grissom on his way. As he approached the bathroom door he heard the lock click open and found himself face to face with a very flushed looking Sara.

"Nick! Hi!" Her eyes widened in shock as she hoped he hadn't been standing there too long.

"Hey Sara!" He responded casually. "First Grissom, now you then me...guess it must be that time of the flight." He joked with a small laugh. Sara chuckled and blushed slightly.

"...Yeah."

"Ok I'm just trying to escape from Greg for a little while." He said, sounding exhausted. Sara laughed then looked sympathetically at him.

"Yeah good luck with that!" She smiled at him and made her way down the aisle back to her seat.

Coming out of the bathroom Nick bumped into the stewardess that Greg had hit.

"Sorry!" They both said at the same time.

"Don't worry about it." The brunette smiled.

"Seems like me and my friends are really beating you up today." Nick gave her his best smile.

"It happens." She smiled back and shrugged it off.

"I'm Nick by the way." He held out his hand as he introduced himself.

"Nick, hi. My name is Jenny." She smiled back at him, her big brown eyes sparkling.

"GREGORY SANDERS!" Catherine's voice could be heard all over the plane. Nick grimaced as he looked back towards his seat where he saw Catherine standing up, clearly yelling at Greg, with what looked like peanuts all over her hair and shoulders. Nick sighed.

"Uhh...do you want a valium for him?" Jenny said with a giggle. Nick laughed.

"No...no thanks. To be honest, I'm not sure if it would work." He flashed her another smile, then looked to the floor with a slight frown. "But I...uh...I better get back there, you know make sure she doesn't kill him. But it was nice meeting you Jenny." He smiled.

"Nice meeting you too!" She smiled back. He held her gaze a little while as he walked away before turning his attentions to stopping Catherine from strangling Greg.

Three long and very tense hours later the plane landed in Cape Town.

"We're here!" Greg squealed all over the plane as soon as the wheels touched ground.

"We know!" Seven exhausted and frustrated voices shouted back at him.


	3. Sleeping arrangements

It was well into the evening when they landed in Cape Town and the sky was already black and dotted with stars as they exited the plane. They collected their bags and hailed two taxis outside the airport. As Grissom tried to claim they would be travelling in the same groups that they had been seated in on the plane Catherine shook her head and protested.

"Oh no you don't!" She cried out as she grabbed Sofia, the weakest link, away from the taxi and pulling Greg by the arm, thrust him into the taxi. She turned and gave Grissom an overly satisfied grin as he stood there staring at her in disbelief. Afraid of what might happen if he tried to argue with her he just shook his head and got into the taxi.

"The Bay Hotel please." Grissom informed the driver of their destination and spent the rest of the journey trying to ignore all noises of Greg.

-

Grissom, Sara, Brass and Greg were the first to arrive at the hotel. From the outside it definitely looked like a nice place, worthy of all those stars it had been awarded. Across the road they could hear the soft sounds of the waves lapping against the shore and the smell of the sea air filled their noses. It brought a smile to all their faces as they waited outside for the rest of the group to arrive.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Sara sighed. Grissom stood beside her putting his arm around her; he leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek causing her to smile even more.

"Yeah! This is going to be great!" He smiled back. It wasn't long before the rest of the group arrived in their taxi. Rejoining the rest of the group Grissom gestured towards the hotel.

"Shall we?"

The hotel reception was softly lit by candle-like lighting fixtures mounted on the wall. They walked towards the front desk where Grissom spoke to the receptionist.

"Hello how can I help you?" She greeted him cheerfully. A little too cheerfully for Sara's liking as she watched this middle aged blonde receptionist smile broadly at her boyfriend.

"Hi, I believe we have a group reservation under the name Grissom." He said with a polite smile. The receptionist typed the name into her computer.

"Oh yes, here it is Mr Grissom. A group of brilliant criminalists I'm told." She smiled at him some more, Sara scowled and rolled her eyes.

"Uh...yeah..." Grissom looked at her in confusion, waiting for her to give him the key, completely oblivious to the woman's flirting.

"You've been booked into the penthouse suite. It has its own living area, dining area, three bathrooms and a little kitchen. And all six bedrooms are attached to the main common area." The receptionists smile started to drop as she realised her flirting was not being returned, or even noticed for that matter.

"Great!" Catherine spoke up from behind Grissom, getting tired of listening to this pathetic exchange.

The receptionist shot her a look and handed over the keys and smiled politely.

"I hope you enjoy your stay Mr Grissom. And if you need anything, please, don't hesitate to call." Grissom took the key from her hand and found himself being dragged away from the desk towards the elevator.

_'What a strange woman!'_ He thought to himself as he walked away.

The group loaded themselves into the lift and pressed the button for the top floor.

"Whoa! Can you guys believe this? The penthouse suite!" Greg shook with excitement. "Could this vacation get any better?"

"You could shut up for five minutes." Catherine mumbled a little louder than she had intended.

"Hey...uh guys...did any of the rest of you notice when she said there were six bedrooms?" Nick asked as the elevator climbed another floor.

"Yeah!" Everyone nodded.

"And there are...eight of us?" Nick looked around at everyone knowing they were now all on his wavelength.

"Some of us are going to be sharing." Sara said what everyone was thinking. Before anyone could respond the elevator doors opened and allowed them their first look at what would be their home for the next two weeks.

The suite was amazing. First of all the main living area was huge and opposite the elevator was a panel of floor to ceiling windows that offered a perfect view of the ocean. There were two soft black leather sofas and a few matching, reclining armchairs and a plasma screen TV in the main common area. To the left of the elevator doors there was an inset room inside which a large dark wood dining table and chairs sat and inside this room there was room that led to a basic but elegantly furnished kitchen. Around the remaining walls there were six other doors which obviously led to the bedrooms.

Upon Greg's inspection it was discovered that all the rooms had double beds but there were two rooms that were slightly larger than the others. The two larger rooms neighboured each other on the Western wall of the suite. These were the rooms obviously intended for sharing; the only problem was deciding who was going to be sharing.

Sara opened the door to one of the big bedrooms and immediately liked what she saw. A large four poster bed with deep red satin bed covers and matching drapes hanging off the frame. The room was furnished with dark wood furniture and the back wall was also painted in a rich colour of red. The other three walls were painted a crisp white which stopped the room from feeling over powering.

"Oh my God Grissom. We have got to get one of these rooms!" She insisted quietly to him as the others explored their new home.

"I know!" He answered. She could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking about something.

"I mean, not only is the room gorgeous and you know bigger than all the others but I've gotten so used to sleeping next to you...I'd miss that." She said with a soft smile. He looked up at her and brought his hand up to stroke her cheek.

"I know. Me too." He smiled at her. "But we can't just say 'we're taking a double room!' It's too obvious! And I know we're not trying to hide anything but we said we wanted to have a little fun with the revelation and that would make it too easy."

"You're right. We need a plan." He smiled deviously at her. "And judging by that look on your face you already have one." He smiled broadly at her. "Ok then, what is the plan?"

"Just follow my lead." He walked away from the bedroom towards the living room and called the rest of the group to join him. Sara shrugged and followed him wondering what he had come up with.

"Alright then." Grissom began when they had all settled on the couches. "I'm sure you all noticed that there are six bedrooms and eight of us." There were nods from the group. "So obviously four people are going to have to share. Now before everyone starts arguing let's be diplomatic about this...we'll draw straws." The group exchanged looks; that sounded like a fair idea.

_'Draw straws? That's his big plan? Sometimes I wonder about this man.' _ Sara thought to herself.

"Do you...have any straws?" She asked him with a smirk. His face fell slightly.

"No." He got up from his seat and walked towards the kitchen and came back with eight slips of folded up paper. "But we can improvise." She smiled at him and took one of the slips of paper. He held out his hands until everyone had a slip of paper and he took the last one for himself. He opened it and addressed the group.

"Well I'm sharing room 2 with someone." Everyone looked at their slips. He looked at Sara; she knew what he was doing.

"That would be me." She chuckled. Catherine looked between the two of them. _'Hmm I wonder how this is going to work out...hopefully for the better. Maybe they'll wise up and wake up to their feelings for each other.' _The blonde smiled.

"Well I've got a room of my own!" Greg said proudly.

"Thank God!" Mumbled Nick. "I mean thank God I've got a room to myself as well." He covered up well.

"Me too!" Added Catherine and Warrick. The group now turned their attention to Sofia and Brass who were keeping very quiet. Turning very pink Brass turned to Sofia and said with a laugh.

"Guess this means we're sharing the other room." Sofia blushed slightly and gave a polite smile.

"Yeah I guess we are." A small silence followed during which everyone continued looking at the detectives.

"Well now that the room situation is sorted, I think I'm going to take advantage of that inviting double bed that I have all to myself!" Catherine informed them as she stood up and grabbed her suitcases, trailing them off to one of the bedroom on the east wall. Stopping in the doorway she wished them all goodnight before she disappeared into her bed.

"I think I'm gonna follow her lead!" Nick stretched and got up from his arm chair. Warrick did the same.

"Yeah. I'm pretty tired too!" Greg stood up and headed to his room, on the same wall as the elevator. The remaining members of the group gave him a shocked look as he carried his suitcase to bed. Sara stifled a yawn as she said goodnight to the boys.

"It's been a really long day! I think everyone's ready to go to bed." He joked as he stood up and lifted his and Sara's cases and carried them towards their allocated bedroom.

"I couldn't agree more." Smiled Brass as he lifted his and Sofia's cases and did the same.

"Goodnight everyone." Sofia called to Sara and Grissom as she followed Jim into the room.

-

Behind the privacy of their bedroom door Sara and Grissom curled up in bed together. Her head was resting in her favourite spot on his chest, right above his heart, while he lazily played with her hair.

"You know that receptionist was totally flirting with you at the desk!" Sara huffed.

"What? No she wasn't." Grissom looked clueless.

"She really was, not that I blame her..." She smirked. Grissom shook his head.

"Well do you know what? I didn't even notice. I've got you, why would I be looking anywhere else." Sara sat up, smiled at him and kissed him. Lying back down she repositioned herself into her original spot.

"You know I just realised, this is our first proper vacation as a couple." She thought out loud. Lifting his head slightly off the pillow Grissom looked at her.

"What about San Francisco?" He asked looking rather confused.

"San Francisco? Gil, that was a forensics seminar...we spent our week looking at and listening to people talk about dead bodies."

"Ok, yeah, but we had a few days off! We went sightseeing and remember I took you to the Body Farm." Sara laughed.

"We'd only just started dating back then." She chuckled. "Still doesn't count!" She said flippantly. He pouted.

"You know what I mean. This is our first real vacation together, abroad and with no work or dead bodies or ghosts."

"Unless Greg keeps on going the way he is." Grissom laughed.

"Well yeah...but still, it's nice." Sara smiled.

"Too bad the whole team have came along for the ride." He joked.

"A small hitch. Actually I think it could be kind of fun." She yawned as her eyes fell heavy with sleep.

"I know what you mean. This definitely is going to be a memorable vacation." He smiled.


	4. Goodmorning sunshine

**A/N:** Hey, sorry I took so long getting this updated and I'm sorry the update is a little short! I've been so busy lately that the story just kind of left me but I will keep trying! Thanks to all of you who read and took the time to review - they're what made me keep writing!

* * *

"Morning!" Nick greeted Catherine when she came out of her room. She was wearing a long white cotton robe and was shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight pouring in through the windows.

"Really? I hadn't noticed!" Her voice was still hoarse from sleep. Nick smiled.

"Coffee?" He asked cheerfully.

"Please!" She sat down at the table and gratefully accepted the mug of coffee Nick gave her.

"Where did this come from anyway?" She asked, thinking more clearly as she started to wake up.

"There's a little store downstairs. I went down earlier and picked up a few things." He explained. Catherine looked at him in awe. The long flight and time change had knocked her out; she was quite impressed that Nick was capable of shopping.

"Wow! I'm still having trouble forming sentences and you've been up and gone to the store and everything." She smiled and took another gulp of coffee. Nick gave a small laugh.

"Yeah well I travelled a bit when I was younger, guess I just sort of became immune to jet lag." He shrugged. A groan behind them stole their attention.

"Morning!" Nick greeted Warrick cheerfully.

"Oh yeah, what's so good about it?" Warrick grumbled sitting down beside them.

"We're on vacation man!" Nick said enthusiastically. "And there's coffee!" He added gesturing towards the coffee pot on the table. Warrick poured himself a mug of coffee and took a big drink of it.

"Now, it's a good morning!" He smiled. "I take it we're the first ones up?" He asked looking at the other bedroom doors.

"Yup!" Nodded Nick whose eyes moved in the same direction as the other two.

"So do you guys think anything happened last night...between them?" Warrick asked motioning towards Sara and Grissom's bedroom door. Catherine eyed the door with a look of intense concentration on her face, almost as though she were trying to see through it. Nick shrugged and sighed.

"Who knows man? Those two have been dancing around each other for so long I get tired just watching them!"

"Tell me about it!" Warrick rolled his eyes. Catherine looked away from the door to Nick and Warrick. They could tell by the look in her eyes that she was in the middle of a thought chain.

"You know, it's all very convenient that two people who have been dancing around each other for years, who are clearly in love with each other, end up sharing a bedroom on this vacation of a life time." She mused. Nick and Warrick nodded along with her.

"Yeah but Cath come on, if something was going on between them we'd know! I mean we are investigators after all, we'd notice. I'm sure we would!" Nick looked back over his shoulder to the bedroom in question.

"Maybe it's fate!" Chuckled Warrick. Catherine laughed.

"Maybe." She sighed. A moan coming from the direction of Sara and Grissom's room caused all their eyes to widen and jaws to drop. Nick's brow furrowed as he looked from Cath to Warrick to the bedroom door. Catherine and Warrick shook their heads in disbelief.

"Was that...did I hear? Did you guys hear?" He began

"Oh we heard Nicky!" Catherine stood up from her seat and walked quietly towards the door.

"What are you doing?" Warrick called after her in a hushed tone.

"Investigating!" She shrugged and a devious smile crossed her face as she gestured for the boys to follow her. They hesitated for a moment before they gave in and ran after Catherine. She put her finger to her lips to quiet them. Leaning closer to the door they could hear Grissom and Sara in the room.

"That hurt!" Inside the room Grissom was groaning, sitting on the bed rubbing his injured foot.

"Quit being such a baby!" Sara sighed, sitting down on the bed beside him.

"You know you could be a little more sympathetic. Especially considering it was your fault I stubbed my toe in the first place!" He huffed and pouted at her for not paying him more attention.

"My fault?" Sara's voice was high pitched in disbelief.

"The middle of the floor is hardly an appropriate place to store a suitcase!" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I was tired...sorry!" She gave him the puppy dog eyes and his resolve melted. He rolled his eyes and smiled at her pulling her in for a kiss.

On the other side of the door Catherine sighed.

"No they're just arguing, as usual." She looked dismayed and so did Nick, he had kind of been looking forward to the gossip.

"Uh guys." Warrick said with a mildly disturbed look on his face. Catherine and Nick looked at him questioningly. He winced slightly. "I uh...I think I found the source of the noise." He looked towards the door beside Grissom and Sara's room. The door that belonged to Brass and Sofia. Nick's eyes almost fell out of his head and Catherine's jaw hit the floor.

Inside Grissom and Sara's room a breathless Grissom broke their kiss.

"I couldn't stay mad at you." His eyes sparkled as he gave her a boyish grin. She smiled and got up from the bed, grabbed his hands and pulled him up too.

"Come on I think I can hear the guys outside." She walked over and opened the door, not expecting to see the rest of the group right outside her door. She narrowed her eyes at them in suspicion.

"What are you doing?" Grissom asked from behind Sara.

"Uh...we...uh..." Nick sputtered. Catherine and Warrick looked at each other cluelessly. Caught in the act the threesome dropped their heads and looked at the floor.

"We heard some noises coming from Brass and Sofia's room and we wanted to know what was going on." Nick tried to justify it.

"Are they ok?" Grissom asked out of concern.

"Oh yeah! They're more than ok!" Catherine smirked. Realising what she meant Grissom's eyes widened.

"Oh!" He backed away from the door slightly.

"What do you say we go get some breakfast?" Sara suggested deciding a change of subject was in order.

"Sounds good!" Everyone agreed desperate to get out of their current situation.

-

Down in the hotel restaurant Sara, Grissom, Catherine, Warrick and Nick grabbed themselves a table and ordered some breakfast. Their food had just arrived when they saw two familiar faces walking towards them, Brass and Sofia both looking very happy. The group at the table exchanged looks and greeted the pair.

"Morning!" They responded sitting down at the table.

"So...how did you guys sleep?" Grissom asked with a small smirk.

"Good. Good!" Brass nodded and busied himself by putting sugar in his coffee.

"And you're room...how is your room? Comfy?" Catherine asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's...nice!" Sofia smiled her eyes flicking from face to face around the table.

"Walls are kinda thin though." Sara said without looking up from the glass she was drinking from. Jim and Sofia's eyes widened and they looked at each other. Sofia opened her mouth to say something, but closed it without saying a word. Sara lowered her glass and smirked at them. The couple blushed slightly but Sofia smirked back at Sara.

"Yeah, they are a little thing Sara." She raised her eyebrows at her. Sara's eyes widened and she looked quickly at Grissom then back to Sofia. An unspoken truce was agreed between the two women as their respective partners sat clueless. After a few moments silence at the table Nick spoke up.

"Say, was there any sign of Greggo moving when you guys left the suite?" He asked. Sofia finished ordering and answered him.

"Yeah when I noticed the rest of you guys were gone I knocked on his door, asked him if he wanted breakfast. He wasn't really in the mood for breakfast...or talking for that matter." She laughed. "I believe his exact words were 'uuugghhhhmmmmmmfff'!"

"Yeah he seems to have been hit with a pretty bad case of jet lag!" Brass chuckled.

"Seems almost karmic doesn't it?" Quipped Grissom; the rest of the table laughed.

"So what should we do today?" Catherine asked, desperate to get the vacation underway. Mummers were heard around the table as people discussed their options.

"How about the beach?" Warrick suggested, looking around the group for approval. "It's close, non-taxing and fun! Sounds like the perfect way to spend our first day on vacation."

Everyone agreed and spent the rest of their breakfast chattering excitedly about the beach.


	5. Bets on the beach

Catherine sat on one of the leather couches in the living room waiting impatiently for the rest of the guys. Kitted out in a sleek black caftan, huge sunglasses and an even bigger hat, she nursed her straw beach bag on her lap. She looked around at the rest of the rooms, something didn't seem quite right – why was she the first one ready?

"Wow!" Warrick exclaimed as he walked out of his room. "You're ready?" He could hardly believe it. Catherine glared at him.

"Yes I'm ready. Don't act so surprised!" He chuckled at her.

"Seriously though where is everyone?" She wondered.

"Well I know I saw Nicky walk out of here a little while ago cursing under his breath about always forgetting sunblock, but I don't know about anyone else." Warrick explained as he sat down beside her.

"Greggo's probably still asleep." She thought out loud. "That just leaves..." Her eyes drifted to the back wall where Grissom, Sara, Brass and Sofia's rooms were. Warrick's eyes followed hers and he shook his head; he did not want to know what was keeping them.

-

"Did you think the guys were acting weird at breakfast this morning?" Sofia asked Brass as she packed her beach bag.

"I didn't notice anything. Why?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, just some of the things they said. They seemed to be a bit...pointed." She squeezed Jim's beach towel into her bag. "Just that comment Sara made..."

"You thing they know something?" He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"Nah..." She shook it off. "They couldn't...I'm sure they don't..." She said but didn't sound convinced.

"Well if they're not bringing it up then we won't either." His eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. Walking over to the bed he picked up her beach bag. Looking at her mischievously he dropped the bag on the bed and pulled her into him, planting a kiss on her lips.

"So how thin do you think these walls are?" He raised his eyebrows at her. She slapped him on the arm.

"We do not have time! And I don't care, as long as we don't hear Grissom and Sara going at it like rabbits next door!" She joked and headed for the door. Brass followed her out carrying her beach bag.

"Ready to go to the beach?" He said cheerfully to Catherine and Warrick, who were the only occupants of the living room.

"Hell yeah!" They replied excitedly. The elevator bell sounded and Nick stepped out into the room. He made his way to the living area and sat down on one of the chairs. Leaning forward he placed his bottle of sunblock on the coffee table and chuckled.

"Every time I go on vacation I forget my sunblock, it's unbelievable! I had to go to the pharmacy down the road to get that." He shook his head.

"Nicky, I have a ton of that stuff with me; you could have just borrowed some!" Catherine shook her head. He groaned and threw himself back into the chair.

"Say, where is everybody else?" He asked noticing there were a few members missing from the group.

-

"Sara, we're going to have a hard time hiding our relationship if you insist on wearing that bikini!" Grissom's voice was low and throaty as he stood behind her kissing the back of her neck while she packed their beach gear.

"Well, what do you suggest I do, wear a shroud to the beach?" She said sarcastically.

"No!" He groaned into her back.

"Well I guess you're just going to have to try to contain yourself then." She looked around for her book to put in the bag, swatting off Grissom as he followed her.

"Sweetie, control yourself!" She instructed him as she turned to face him and kissed him softly on the lips. He stood up straighter and composed himself in preparation for facing the group.

"Much better!" She said as she snaked her arms around his neck. "And if you behave I might just let you take my bikini off later!" She said seductively. Grissom's eyes widened and quickly shut as she pressed her lips to his, her tongue seeking entrance to his mouth, which he was more than willing to give. When she broke away from the kiss he was breathless and all his composure was completely gone.

"Now come on, we better get going." She said breezily as she grabbed her bag and left the room.

Grissom stood for a moment, trying but finding himself unable to move. _'Devil woman!' _He cursed her as he gave himself a shake and headed into the living room.

"Everybody ready?" He asked as he glanced around counting the faces. "Where's Greg?" He asked when he noted the absence.

"Here I am!" The young man's happy voice sounded in the doorway to his bedroom. "Who's ready for the beach?" He sort of sang as he dance-walked his way to the living room.

There was a collective blink from the group as they looked at him. He was standing before them in the most heinous pair of shorts any of them had ever seen. Multicoloured lines and blotches patterned the entire shorts. It was one of those patterns that could give you a headache if you looked at it for too long; and yet they seemed to oddly match Greg's hyper personality and quirky fashion sense. In the lab he had matured slightly since moving out into the field, but these shorts were the proof that inside he was still the same immature Greggo that they all knew and loved.

"I know!" He smiled when he caught them staring at his shorts. "They're awesome, right?" He smiled broadly and nodded while everyone else looked away and forced smiles.

-

"Alright, let's put the stuff down here, perfect spot!" Catherine smiled and took her beach bag from Warrick. They laid out their towels in a row beside Catherine's and sat down on them. Before them the turquoise waves rolled in on the white sand shore and since it was the middle of the week they practically had it all to themselves. The sun was glorious shining down on them as they stretched out and basked in its warmth.

Catherine was busy slathering herself with the highest factor sunblock that was available to her, as were Sara and Nick. She was straining to apply the cream to her back when Warrick stepped in and offered to do it for her. He accepted the bottle from her and squeezed it into his palm, warming it between his hands before applying it to her back. He massaged the cream into her back gently and lovingly, so much so that Catherine almost forgot the company they were in as she melted away under his touch.

"Hey guys look what I brought!" Greg said excitedly, producing a beach ball from his backpack.

"Awesome!" Nick cried out, knocking the ball out of Greg's hand and catching it. Greg pouted. "What should we play?" He asked throwing the ball from hand to hand.

"How about volleyball? Girls versus guys?" Warrick suggested with a devilish glint in his eyes. The girl's exchanged conspiring looks then accepted the challenge.

"You're on!" Sara smirked, jumping up from her towel and racing towards the unoccupied volleyball nets with Catherine and Sofia following.

The girls stood on one side of the net with the guys on the other, all excited about the game, trash talking to the other team.

"Wait! There are five of you and three of us! That's not fair!" Catherine protested as they were about to flip to see who served first.

"Yeah!" Sofia backed her up.

"Alright fine, you can have Greg!" Nick shrugged, feeling confident the guys were going to win regardless.

"Hey!" Greg complained.

"Oh alright, fine!" Catherin sighed.

"Hey!" Everyone ignored Greg's complaints.

"Suck it up Greggo!" Sara rolled her eyes and beckoned him to their side. He huffed and pouted and reluctantly shuffled around to the other side of the net. "Look on the bright side," Sara smiled at him, "now you're on the winning team!"

"Oh yeah, well we'll see about that Sidle!" Nick's competitive streak was coming through as she jeered the girl's team.

"Yeah we will!" Nick rolled his eyes at them.

"Care to make this interesting Nicky?" Sara goaded him smugly. "Losers perform at the hotel karaoke night tonight!"

"Alright, you're on! Winner gets to choose the song!" He smiled, this was too easy; first he would get to humiliate them by beating them at volleyball then they would be further embarrassed by the song he would choose for them at the karaoke bar.

"Sara! What are you doing?" Catherine pulled her aside and hissed at her. Sofia joined them at Sara's other side.

"Yeah I don't sing!" Sofia informed her flatly.

"We won't have to sing." Sara rolled her eyes at them. "You honestly think we can't beat them?"

"They're boys!" Catherine pointed out.

"Exactly...and we're women!" Sara raised her eyebrows devilishly.

"Oh!" Catherine and Sofia smirked when they caught on to what she was implying.

"Alright then let's do this!" Sara yelled, moving into position.

She was standing up front, face to face through the net with Grissom. She locked her eyes into his and smiled. Her smiled made him lose focus of what was happening resulting in him getting hit in the back with the beach ball when Brass got fed up of calling him. He turned with an angry look to face the person that had hit him.

"Your serve!" Brass said snidely. Realising what had happen Grissom quickly took the ball, moved into position and started the game.

-

They had been playing for about ten minutes and the game was already going in the girls' favour. Sofia was ready to serve and Warrick was jumping up and down in front of the net, preparing to really get the game going and crush the girls. That was until Catherine chose that exact moment to stretch, pushing her arms up and her chest out, distracting Warrick's attention completely. He was so enthralled by the sight of Catherine's cleavage that he failed to see Sofia's serve coming right at him, that was until it hit him in the head. Then he saw it all too clearly. The girls, and Greg, cheered as they added another point to their score.

"Come on man look alive!" Nick yelled at him, not one bit pleased that they were getting beaten by girls...and Greg.

The game continued on for another ten minutes and for a while it looked like the boys might catch up. Of course, once Sara claimed that she was getting all sweaty and removed her t-shirt revealing that bikini she had bought at the mall with Grissom, after that the boys' performance began to deteriorate, dramatically. When the score reached 27-15 the girls decided they should stop playing, to save the men any further embarrassment. Grumbling the men agreed in an effort to hold on to whatever dignity they had left.

Lying on her towel, on her back propped up by her elbows Sara gloated as the losing team sat down every one of them huffing. Catherine was busy fawning over Warrick telling him how he made a good effort while Sofia was tending to Jim's bruised ego, not that he had been too annoyed about the game, he just enjoyed the way she was treating him. Picking her t-shirt up off his towel Grissom tossed it at her.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" He smirked at her, his eyes narrowing accusingly.

"I don't know what you mean!" She feigned innocence. He scoffed.

"You know damn well what I mean. You...and that bikini – there was no way I could have concentrated on anything else." She smirked.

"Well, did you really expect me to lose that bet with Nick?" She asked.

"No." He smiled. "To be honest I enjoyed every second of being beaten." He leaned in close to her when he said this, his voice almost a growl; it excited her a little.

"Really? I'll have to remember that for later!" She raised her eyebrows suggestively, knowing it was teasing him. Grissom groaned, wishing they weren't on the beach and in front of the whole team.

It was getting later in the afternoon and they were all lying around on their towels chatting, some of them still scorning the girls' victory.

"It's getting late, we should probably head back. Wouldn't want Nicky to miss his big debut now would we?" Sara smirked.

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**A/N:** I haven't quite decided on a song for Nick to sing in the next chapter so if anyone has any suggestions I'd like to hear them. 


	6. Karaoke classics

**A/n:** Ok so I pretty much owe you guys the biggest apology ever for completely abandoning this story - things have een completely crazy lately and I've had either no time or no drive to write! But it's changing now - I have a 3 week break from uni coming up so I'm hoping I'll get the rest of this out over the break, or at least make a blooy great dent in the story! Anyway this chapter is not as good as I was hoping for it to be and I'll wholeheartedly agree with all of you who say the ending seems kind of half assed but I had to start some where and the only way is up! Hope you enjoy!

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The Bay Hotel bar was as nice and ornately decorated as the rest of the building. A long, rich mahogany coloured bar ran the entire length of the east wall with well dressed bar staff stationed behind it. The bar was an old school bar with decorative brass pumps for the draught beers and optics for the spirits on the back wall. It was a change from most of the hotel bars in Vegas where almost all of them had gone 'digital' with the electronic pump attached to barrels in a room in the basement.

Nick and Greg were sat in a booth facing the bar so Greg had a good view of the cute little blonde bar tender while they drank. A small temporary stage loomed on the back wall and various sound and lighting technicians were setting up the equipment for the karaoke night. As of yet the place wasn't too busy but when Greg had asked would it fill up the staff were almost certain it would, "Karaoke night is pretty popular, and not just with guests." She had smiled. Nick groaned. A few more people entered and Nick frowned. Greg rolled his eyes.

"Would you quit pouting over there and start having fun?" He chastised. "We're on a once in a lifetime trip here and you're sulking because you have to sing in public. We're in Africa for cryin' out loud! No one here is going to know you. Get over it. You won't be the only one singing, all the guys will be. I certainly will be and I'd say once the girls get a few drinks in them they'll give it a go too. It's fun! That's what karaoke is...Fun!" He waved his hands around to emphasise the word fun.

"It's not the singing man; it's what the singing represents." Nick argued. Greg looked at him questioningly. "Losing to a girl!" Nick explained.

"Three girls." Greg corrected. "And me."

"That's hardly better." Greg huffed his offense. "Besides Sara's choosing the song and I just know she's got something horrible planned." He sighed.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Who are you kidding?" Nick drawled sarcastically. "I know I would have humiliated her if we'd won." Nick fretted as more people entered the bar.

"Well you just better hope Sara's a better person than you...or get a few drinks into you and then you won't care. You might even enjoy yourself." Greg smiled as the blonde bar tender caught his eye again, distracting him. Nick sighed heavily, again, looking woefully towards the stage.

By the time Grissom, Brass, Sara and Sofia had arrived Nick and Greg had all ready finished off quite a few drinks.

"Looking forward to tonight Nicky?" Sara teased as she slide into the booth beside him. He glared back at her causing her to laugh.

"Well I know I am." Sofia chuckled, enjoying the afterglow of their victory over the guys. Over the microphone the host of the karaoke night warmed up the crowd, giving them instructions on where to sign up to sing and announced that the first singer would be on in ten minutes. Sara and Sofia practically ran towards the sign in sheet leaving three sulking men and Greg looking after them. Nick's heart fell a little when he saw Sara laughing with the DJ.

_'What has she got planned?' _He worried.

By the time Sara and Sofia had returned Catherine and Warrick had joined the group, both wearing great smiles on their faces.

"We didn't miss anything did we?" Cath enquired, sipping on her drink.

"No the big show hasn't started yet." Sara assured her, squeezing Nick's shoulder. The girls were loving every minute of this torture. They ordered more drinks and chatted while they waited for the evening to really begin.

Luckily for Nick Sara and Sofia had not been fast enough and he wasn't the first one up. A few people went up before him, each singing their own karaoke favourite. None of them were particularly good but they had fun with it and the crowd were giving them tons of encouragement. Nick began to calm down, knowing that at least he had a decent enough voice. Either that or he was calming down because he had quite a few beers in him.

"Thank you Carrie for that version of I'm so excited...I really believed you too. Next up we have Nick Stokes. Come on up here Nicky." The DJ called out. Nick felt as though his stomach had just landed in his shoes as he stood up and made his way to the mic. It wouldn't have been so bad if he knew what he was about to sing but he'd only find out when the rest of the bar found out. The spotlight shone down on him, blinding him slightly and blocking his vision of most of the crowd. The opening bars of a familiar song played and Nick couldn't help but laugh. _'Original Sara, real original.' _He shook his head as the lyrics appeared on the screen.

**I'm goin' out tonight, I'm feelin' alright**

**Gonna let it all hang out**

**Wanna make some noise, really raise my voice**

**Yeah I'm wanna scream and shout.**

**No inhibitions, make no conditions **

**Gonna get a little outta line. **

**I ain't gonna act politically correct – I only wanna have a good time.**

Nick laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

**The best thing about bein' a woman,**

**Is the prerogative to have a little fun.**

**Oh, oh, oh go totally crazy – forget I'm a lady**

**Men's shirts, short skirts **

**Oh, oh, oh really go wild, yeah doin' it in style **

**Oh, oh, oh get in the action – feel the attraction**

**Colour my hair, do what I dare **

**Oh, oh, oh I wanna be free, yeah to feel the way I feel**

**Man! I feel like a woman**

Nick cringed his way through the chorus. The crowd started clapping and cheering, giving Nick all the encouragement he needed. He threw himself into the second verse and by the next chorus he was dancing around and making a fool out of himself. At their table the group were in hysterics laughing at Nick as he finished up the song sliding along the stage on his knees.

"Thank you very much Mr Stokes for that...energetic performance! Shania ain't got nothin' on you." The host laughed over the microphone as a slightly red faced Nick made his way back to the table.

"Woohoo Nicky boy I didn't know you had that in you!" Catherine cheered when he sat back down.

"Yeah Nick that was really something." Brass shook his head at the young CSI.

After a few more people had sang it was the rest of the losing team's turn to sing.

"Next up we have a trio of singers, please welcome to the stage Gil Grissom, Warrick Brown and Jim Brass." The crowd cheered as they reluctantly made their way to the stage. The bouncy beat of an 80's pop anthem played over the sound system and the men's faces were a combination of anger, embarrassment and misery as the words appeared on screen.

"I see they've gone for a running theme in our humiliation." Grissom's mouth drew tight. He and Warrick pushed Jim up to the mic to start them off. He glared at them.

**I come home in the morning light**

**My mother yells when you gonna live your life right**

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jim said dryly mid line.

**Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones**

**And girls they want to have fun**

**Oh girls just want to have fun**

He sang as monotonously as humanly possible. Warrick took the second verse, trying hard not to look at the audience. Just look down sing and it'll all be over soon.

**The phone rings in the middle of the night**

**My father yells what you gonna do with your life**

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

**Oh Daddy dear you know you're still number one **

**But girl they wanna have fun**

**Oh girls just wanna have fun. **

The men banded together in their embarrassment and braced themselves for the high pitched chorus. Back at the booth Catherine, Sara and Sofia were doubled over laughing. Nick was smiling smugly and Greg was singing and clapping along.

They cringed their way through the rest of the song and ran off stage before the last few bars of music were even finished. Sitting down mortified and angry at the girls the men called a waitress and ordered themselves some drinks, strong drinks. Everyone was starting to loosen up now and they were really enjoying themselves. Sara braved the stage and gave a sizzling performance of Peggy Lee's Fever during which she barely took her eyes off Grissom, nor did he take his eyes off her. This of course did not go un-noticed by Catherine who was furiously nudging Warrick to draw his attention to it also.

"They are totally having eye sex!" She hissed. Warrick shrugged.

Next it was Catherine's turn to take the stage and with several screwdrivers in her system she choose to sing the Blondie classic I touch myself, which left Warrick very hot under the collar and earned her raucous cheers from the male audience. Jim, Sofia and Grissom avoided the microphone like it was Ecklie in a bad mood.

A somewhat inebriated Greg gave a very...enthusiastic performance of Rod Stewart's 'Do ya think I'm sexy?' gaining him a few female admirers in the audience, though not the attention of the female he was hoping to attract. When his singing failed to impress he began ordering cocktails from the woman of his dreams, well at least she would be tonight, in order to get her attention. Hoping that his superior knowledge of cocktails would impress her he ended up drinking a lot more than he should have.

"This is the best mojito I've ever tasted!" He squealed, thinking it sounded a lot more manly than it actually did. "Andrea, you're amazing." He smiled boyishly at her. She smiled back, albeit a little uncomfortably.

"You're not so bad yourself Rod." She giggled, he might be drunk and coming on way to strong but he was still cute.

"Will you marry me?" Greg swayed and made doe eyes at her, almost falling as he swayed a little too far left.

"Whoa! Easy there stud." Nick laughed as he stepped up beside him and caught him. "I think maybe it's time for us to go home." He put his arm around his friend and tried to lead him out of the bar.

"I don't want to go." Greg sulked. "I want to stay here with Andrea!"

"I know you do buddy but we have to leave, Andrea will still be here tomorrow I promise." Nick cajoled.

"You promise?" Greg turned to Andrea with pleading eyes. She couldn't help but smile.

"I promise." Greg beamed and turned to Nick, ready to leave.

"She's going to wait for me." He tried to whisper but failed, causing the blonde bar tender to giggle.

"That's great!" Nick smiled. "I'm sorry about my friend here; he was drinking to get your attention. You know you really should give him a chance, he's not such a bad guy when he's sober." The bartender smiled and nodded as Nick led Greg out of the bar and half carried him to the elevator.

"I love her!" Greg sighed as the exited the elevator and found the rest of the gang lounging on the couches. Nick did a double take when he saw Sara sleepily curled into Grissom's side with Grissom's arm around her, but figuring she was just a little drunk and Grissom was a gentleman he didn't think anything of it. He dropped Greg into one of the leather arm chairs where he flopped back with a big grin on his face.

"Hey Cath, you might wanna head out and buy yourself a nice hat – Greggo here's getting married." Nick joked, the group chuckled. "Isn't that right Greggo?"

"Yes!" He said dreamily. "Her names Andrea and she has shiny blonde hair and pretty green eyes and we're going to get married and live here in a house on the beach and I'm gonna teach our children to surf and she's going to make them cocktails." Greg rambled; unaware that his speech was providing great entertainment to the rest of the room. "And there'll be dolphins and they can play with the elephant." He concluded.

"Maybe it's time you went to bed." Grissom suggested with a smile and raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, come on buddy, let's get you tucked up." Nick smiled at how childlike Greg was and helped him to his bedroom.

"Bed sounds like a great idea to me." Sofia drawled standing up and walking towards the bed room with added swing in her hips, when she got to the door she cast a look over her shoulder at Jim who immediately jumped up from his seat and faked a yawn.

"Yeah I think I'm gonna head to." He said before briefly wishing everyone goodnight and practically running to the bedroom. The remaining bodies in the room exchanged looks smirking at the pair's behaviour.

"I want to go to bed too!" Sara whined into Grissom's side. He smiled and pulled her up off the couch towards the bedroom. Their actions were watched with great interest by Catherine.

"Goodnight guys!" He called back at Catherine and Warrick who were exchanging glances.

"I'm going to head off myself." Catherine groaned as she pushed herself off the couch.

"Yeah I'm gonna grab a glass of water then I'm hitting the sheets too." Warrick yawned. "Damn everyone's so tired – do you ever think we're getting old?" He laughed.

"Maybe." She sighed. "Goodnight." The door to her bedroom closed with a snap leaving Warrick looking in after her. He shook his head and smiled. He poured himself a glass of water and headed towards his room passing Catherine's door he heard her moving around inside and singing.

**I ****close my eyes and see you before me**

**Think I would die if you were to ignore me **

**I don't want anybody else...**

A smile crept across Warrick's face as he turned from his own door and entered Catherine's room.

-

In Sara and Grissom's room Sara was already lying on top of the covers her face buried in her pillow. Grissom stood in the doorway and looked at her thinking about how adorable she looked when she was sleeping.

"Aren't you coming to bed?" Her words were muffled by the pillow.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." He remained where he was standing taking in the moment; it would sound silly to anyone else but in that one innocuous moment, standing there watching her, hair all over her face as she lay sprawled on her bed, the love he felt for her was incomprehensible. And that's when he knew how he was going to make this trip memorable for her.

"Gil." She cried from the bed, missing his body to curl up against. He tore himself from his thoughts and obliged her climbing under the bed sheets and pulling her in with him.

"I love you, you know that?" He said softly, kissing her hair.

"I love you too sweetie. Goodnight." She said sleepily. A muffled noise penetrated the wall, it sounded like giggling.

"What was that?" Sara asked, her eyes opened wide in almost terror.

"I don't know but I hope it's not what I think it was. I pray it's not what I think it is." Grissom grimaced. That's when they heard the sound that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

"Oh Jim!"


	7. the morning after the night before

**A/N: **Hello there! Now how may of you are rubbing your eyes and staring in disbelief that this story has finally been updated lol I owe you an apology for the extreme delay and complete absence of updates on my stuff but I've been busy and my life's been changing - but all for good so it's great! Anyway I decided 2 weeks ago to start writing again and finish this - then of course as fate would have it my laptop broke so I had to wait for a new charger and eventually I got round to writing. I wanted to post something as soom as I started writing just to get me back into the way of it so it is now 4 am where I am....I got out of work at 2.30am and have been holding my eyes open to get this chapter finished.

I doubt it's my best work, I'm a little rusty and I forgot how many flippin' ships I was trying to sail in this story lol so please bear with me!

Please review to encourage me and if you do review please be gentle! =]

* * *

The next morning broke far too brightly for any of their liking. The majority of the penthouse suite's occupants lay sprawled on the couches in the living room with the curtains drawn participating in a communal hangover that can usually only be found in college dorms the day after a big frat party.

"Is this really all we're going to do today?" Warrick asked with a sigh.

"I sure hope not." Nick replied. "I don't want to waste my vacation time lying around feeling sorry for myself."

"Does anyone have any ideas?" Brass added, a question he would soon come to regret asking.

"Well I know what always makes me feel better when I have a hangover...a little retail therapy." Catherine grinned devilishly. Sofia's ears pricked up at the thought of shopping, while Sara rolled her eyes.

"Aw man. Do we have to?" Nick groaned.

"Well do you have a better idea Nicky?" Catherine asked with a raised eyebrow. Nick tried to think of something, anything, and fast but it was no use, his brain was still trying to recover from last night's cocktails. "Well that settles it then, we're going shopping." She smiled.

-

The noise outside pulled Greg from his alcohol induced sleep awakening him to the tremendous pain he was in. The sunlight shining through the curtains of his bedroom stung all the way through to the back of his brain. He groaned like a man three times his age as he got up, wrapped his blanket around his shoulders and made his way to the door. He really didn't want to face the group yet but unfortunately they were between him and the coffee that he so desperately needed right now.

"Good morning Greggo!" They cried in their loudest, forced happy voices. They might be feeling rough but Greg had to be feeling worse, and how could they resist a chance to torture him. Greg grimaced; every syllable was causing him pain. He could only grunt in reply as he moved towards the coffee supply. Dropping down onto the couch beside Nick the Texan man threw his arm around his young friend.

"Boy have I got good news for buddy!" Nick forced a huge grin. "We are going shopping today!" He faked cheered. Greg looked positively panic-stricken.

"Seriously?" He groaned. "And I thought after waking up in this misery my day couldn't get any worse."

"Well I'm going to have to buy a hat if I want to look good for the wedding." Catherine grinned.

"Wedding? What wedding?" Greg's faced screwed up in confusion.

"Your wedding silly." Sara answered.

"My wedding?" Greg's head hurt, he couldn't think much less understand what the hell they were talking about.

"You don't remember much of what happened last night do you stud?" Nick chuckled.

"Yeah I do." Greg replied defensively. "You embarrassed yourself singing karaoke." He sneered. "Then we had some drinks and some laughs and came home."

"Oh yeah, well then how did you get home then?" Nick questioned.

"I took the elevator." Greg said snidely.

"Yeah that's right you did...after I dragged you away from that cute little bar tender, but not before you asked her to marry you."

Greg closed his eyes as the memory of the previous night came flooding back to him. He hung his head as a rosy pink blush crept over his face. "I didn't!" He grimaced.

"Oh yes you did." Nick laughed.

"Cheer up Greggo. These shopping complexes are huge I'll bet there's a Starbucks on every floor. Or at least the Cape Town equivalent of Starbucks." Sara tried to console him. He was her little CSI protégé and one of her dear friends and she could tell he was suffering enough without the constant teasing from everyone else. Greg shrugged and gave a weak half smile. That would probably be the only positive part of his day.

"Great, well now that's settled, when do you want to leave? Soon?" Sofia encouraged, already looking forward to spending all of her hard earned money in this retail paradise.

"Yes soon!" Catherine seconded. She could already imagine herself trying on that well deserved pair of shoes and matching handbag she was going to treat herself to. "What do you say we go get freshened up and be here ready to go in an hour?"

They all nodded their agreement, some more excitedly than others.

"Sara you should probably go wake Gil and tell him about the super fun day Catherine has planned for him." Brass chuckled as they made their way slowly from the couches.

"Yeah." Sara said as she pushed herself from her seat. "He must have had a lot to drink last night; he never usually sleeps this late." She said absent-mindedly, not realising she was thinking out loud. Her words did not go unnoticed by the group, who were now looking around at each other making sure they had just heard her correctly. Thinking about their plan to tease their friends with clues before telling them about their relationship Sara never looked back and walked into their room.

"Uh, usually?" Warrick voiced the question running through all of their minds right now.

-

"Morning sleepy head." Sara said softly as Grissom stirred when she closed the door behind her.

"Morning." He smiled; his voice was husky with sleep. "What time is it?"

"It's just a little before 12." She told him, sitting on the bed beside him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Really? I can't believe I slept so late." He sat up and stretched.

"I know, neither could I. In fact I was so surprised I inadvertently gave the guys their first big clue that there's something going on between us." She smiled and gave him another kiss.

"What was the clue?" He asked, returning her kiss.

"I just said that you don't usually sleep this late." She chuckled. "That's ok isn't it?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" He looked confused.

"I don't know maybe you wanted to be there with me when we dropped hints and gave clues." She shrugged.

"It's your plan." He shrugged and gave her another kiss.

"Ok then." She smiled and kissed him one last time before making her way towards their en suite. "Oh by the way we're going shopping today, you have to be ready in an hour." She called back over her shoulder.

"Let me guess Catherine's idea?" He muttered to himself as he threw the covers back and got up.

-

Forty five minutes later Catherine and Sofia were waiting impatiently in the living room with Nick and Warrick for the rest of the group to appear. They were taking it in turns to stare down to doors in the hopes that their mind power would penetrate the wood and get the people inside the rooms to hurry the hell up. Sofia sighed heavily for what seemed like the millionth time in the past five minutes. Warrick and Nick shared half amused half frightened looks.

"Maybe we should go check if their ready." Catherine tried to make it sound like she was merely making a friendly suggestion but it was clear she had just gotten fed up of waiting.

"Good idea!" Sofia had jumped out of her seat before Catherine had even finished her sentence and was making her way towards her room to find out what was taking Jim so long. As Sofia walked into her room, Sara and Grissom exited theirs.

"Finally!" Catherine sighed when she saw them. Grissom and Sara looked at each other and then at Warrick who was shaking his head telling them to ignore it. He knew what Catherine was like when she was ready to shop and people were holding her back.

"I'll go get Greg." Nick offered.

-

"What is taking so long Jim?" Sofia demanded when she entered the room.

"I can't find my sunglasses." Brass stood in the middle of the room at a loss as to where they possibly could be.

"Uh!" Sofia huffed. "Where did you leave them? Because I can guarantee that they are probably still there."

"I thought I left them on the dresser but they're not there. Did you maybe move them when you were getting dressed this morning?"

"No I did not move them!" She sighed.

"Well then I don't know where they are." He huffed and dropped down on the bed. Spying the missing sunglasses on his nightstand Sofia moved across the room and picked them up.

"You know it's a good thing you're not a CSI Jim." She chuckled as she handed them to him.

"Would you look at that." He chuckled, blushing slightly behind his ears. "I must be getting old, my eyesight is going."

"You're not old!" She slapped his arm. "How does that saying go, 'you're only as old as the person you're feeling'" She poked her tongue out at him causing him to blush even more. "Now come on I want to go shopping." She grabbed his arm and pulled him from the bed. He pulled her back into his arms and gave her a long, passionate kiss.

"Ok let's go!" He said, moving towards the door leaving her behind him catching her breath.

-

"Greg!" Nick knocked the door before opening it. "Man, I hope you're ready because Catherine's about to come in here and maul you if you don't get your ass out there." Nick couldn't help but laugh when he seen Greg. He was lying face down his bed almost sideways as though he had just toppled over.

"At least you're dressed." Nick shrugged and rolled his friend over. "Ready?"

"No." Greg groaned then inhaled melodramatically. "I can't do it Nicky. I...I'm not going to make it! Go on without me!" His head rolled to the side as he finished his lament.

"Oh no you don't! If I have to endure this pain then you have to as well." Nick smiled. "I need you there to get me through it."

"But..." Greg began to protest again but he knew there was no point. "OK." He said sorrowfully accepting his fate.

"Come on buddy, I'll buy you one of those fancy coffees you love so much." Nick said as he took Greg's hand and helped him to his feet.

-

At precisely the arranged time, which had proved to be about 15 minutes later than Catherine wanted, everyone was ready to go. They left their room and headed downstairs to the lobby. Sara was happy to see that the receptionist who had been flirting with Grissom was off duty and had been replaced by a twenty-something year old man who was more than happy to arrange a taxi to take them to the malls.


	8. Shop til Catherine drop kicks you

**A/N: **Ok so this chapter is a bit longer and quite Grissom / GSR centric. When I started writing it I got a new idea into my head about what was going to happen...hopefully you will like it! Oh and please review - they keep me sane =]

* * *

A short drive later one of Cape Town's largest retail complexes stood before them. Catherine and Sofia stood in awe for a minute at what was in front of them, before approaching the doors pulling a reluctant Sara behind them. They men trudged dutifully after them knowing that their day would be spent carrying bags and choosing their words very carefully when asked the question every man fears 'how do I look?'

Once inside Catherine and Sofia surveyed the layout of the mall, observing the number of floors, location of stairs and elevators, area of each level and a rough estimate of how many stores were on each level. When their eyes met again they shared a satisfied nod.

"Alright boys, try to keep up!" Catherine called over her shoulder as she moved determinedly through the crowds of shoppers.

They made their way through the mall strategically, walking along the left hand side first then back along the right thus ensuring that no shop was missed. The mall held a variety of stores to suit almost every taste and need. There were designer boutiques, electronics and gadget store, book shops, music emporiums, men's clothing stores and even some more eclectic clothing stores that Sara enjoyed. They made their way around the ground floor with a military efficiency; no more than 20 minutes per store, use of dressing rooms only when necessary and no unnecessary queuing. They had visited almost every shop on the ground floor in little over an hour and a half. On their way towards the next place they passed a small coffee shop nestled in between a music and DVD shop and a sporting goods store that Catherine was pretending not to see. It was then that Greg remembered the vow Nick had made to him to get him to agree to this torture. He was definitely craving caffeine right now.

He turned to Nick, looking pleadingly at him to stay true to the promise he had made earlier. Nick couldn't help at smile at an almost 30 year old man using puppy dog eyes to get what he wanted. Still a promise was a promise.

"Uh...Cath? I promised Greggo a coffee this morning, any chance of a pit stop?" He motioned towards the coffee shop. Catherine considered this for a moment before answering.

"You two can go get coffee if you want. But you're going to miss the shoe store." She seemed shocked when they didn't seem to care. She checked her watch. "Well I was thinking we could maybe grab some food in about a half hour anyway, so why don't you meet us at the food court?"

"Ok." Nick nodded and he and Greg started towards the coffee shop.

"Take me with you!" Sara called out from behind Catherine.

"Oh no you don't!" Catherine spun around on her heels to face the younger CSI. "You're coming shoe shopping with us. Now about those boots that you wear..." Catherine said as she slung her arm around Sara and led her towards the shoes.

Nick shook his head and laughed as he watched them leave. Beside him Greg sent a silent prayer to whichever God had sent Nick Stokes to be his saviour. Not only because he so desperately needed caffeine hit but also because he had needed to go to the bathroom for the past half hour but had been too terrified to suggest a bathroom break.

-

By the time they reached the food court Grissom, Warrick and Brass had each been loaded up with armfuls of shopping bags each, which was funny because none of them could remember buying anything. All they knew was they had never been so glad to see uncomfortable metal seating arranged around plastic benches. Sighing with pleasure they dropped the bags and sat down now able to turn their attention to the only part of the day that actually interested them – lunch.

"Hey!" Sara smiled as she sat down beside Grissom. They greeted her.

"Having fun?" Grissom asked his partner of just over a year now. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Not as much fun as you're having." She smirked back at him. "Listen I have to go to the restroom, would you order my food while I'm gone? I am starving!" She groaned.

"Of course." He nodded. "What do you want?"

"What are you having?" She asked.

"I was thinking Mexican."

"Ok then just get me what I usually get." She said hurrying off as she seen Catherine and Sofia coming towards them. He chuckled slightly to himself as she sped past them. This was his chance.

"Catherine!" He called. "Could I have a word with you please?" He motioned to one side for her to join him on his way to the Mexican food place.

"What is it Gil?" She asked, studying her friend's face, worried by how serious he looked. He took a deep breath and braced himself.

"I have a favour to ask you."

"OK...what is it?"

"Alright so here's the deal. Sara and I have been dating for almost a year now. And I would like to propose to her while we're on this trip. I have a plan but I need some assistance so, will you help me out?"

Catherine stared at him, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water while she tried to gather her thoughts to speak. She had always known Grissom was in love with Sara. She had known that their younger colleague returned his feelings. Hell she might have even suspected they were dating. But she was not prepared for Grissom, her oldest friend, to drop this bomb on her. A thousand questions raced through her head all fighting to get answered first. Frankly she was still having trouble comprehending the fact that Gil Grissom had actually managed to open himself up to someone and start a relationship.

"What? How? When? What?" Her brain was over loaded.

"Sara and I are a couple. We have been for almost a year now and we live together in my town house. I'm not sure the exact date we started dating but it was sometime after the Adam Trent case." He answered all her questions plainly. She considered the information for a moment then smile broadly.

"Way to go Gil! You finally pulled your head from that microscope eh?" She was happy they had finally stopped dancing around each other and were now happy. "And you want to propose?" This was the biggest shock of all.

"Well yes." He shrugged. "I've never thought of myself as the marrying kind but my ideas have changed since I met Sara. I know it might sound silly but I would like nothing more than to stand in front of all our friends and promise to love her forever."

"Wow!" That was all she could say. "So what do you want me to do? Ask her for you? Because I have to say I think the proposal would mean a lot more if it came from you." She joked as he ordered his and Sara's food.

"No I have a plan but I can't do it all alone. So the first thing I need you to do is take this little shopping expedition of yours near a jewellery store and distract Sara for a while so I can buy a ring." He informed her. He would tell her the rest of the plan as and when he needed to.

"I can do that, sure no problem!" She nodded. Then the reality of it all kicked in and she teared up a little. "Oh my God this is so huge! I'm honoured that you want me to be a part of it!" She smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"Just one more thing Catherine...I need you to keep quiet about this. All of it not just the proposal. I want it to be a surprise on all sides when I do this." He said in a serious tone. She glared at him. How could he give her such a juicy piece of gossip and then take it away from her like that? Then again it would be worth it in the end when all of this had played out.

"Alright!" She sighed. She wasn't sure how long she could keep something like this inside, so whatever he was planning it had better happen soon.

They made their way back to the group where Grissom handed Sara her veggie burrito. They were all talking amongst themselves so no one notice that Catherine had been silent the entire meal. She was preoccupied, she was busy replaying moments between Grissom and Sara that she had observed over the past year and seeing them in a whole new light.

-

With all the stores on the ground floor shopped out they moved up a level and began their attack on these stores. Their initial shopping rush satisfied by bags full of shoes and clothes from downstairs Catherine and Sofia eased up on the strangle hold they had on the group allowing the other members more freedom to browse at their leisure. As they were walking along window shopping Catherine spied a jeweller's midway down on the right hand side. She nudged her supervisor and discreetly pointed to it. Then she quickly formulated a plan. There was a book and music store across the way; perfect.

"Hey Greggo!" She called. The young man turned nervously, wondering what he had done wrong. "There's a music store a little way down there, don't you want to go check out the Cape Town music scene? I'm sure there'll be tons of loud CD's you can buy and play really loud around the penthouse." She suggested. He looked at her trying to figure out if it was a trick. There were no obvious signs she was trying to trick him so he decided to make a break for it while the going was good.

"Alright!" He shrugged.

"Say Sara, why don't you go with him?" Sara had been miles away, day-dreaming, when the mention of her name brought her back to earth.

"What?" She looked around to find who had been talking to her.

"Why don't you go with Greg?" Grissom repeated himself. "You've almost finished that book you're reading I thought you might want to pick one up."

"Oh, yeah you're right." She remembered. She took Greg's arm and they headed towards the music and book store.

'_Alright!'_ Catherine thought. _'Now for step 2!'_

"Wow! Look at that jewellery store. Warrick weren't you looking for a new watch?"

"I don't think so." He started, earning himself a pinch on the arm from Catherine.

"I think you were." She smiled forcefully.

"I mean yes, I forgot the...uh...strap broke on my other watch. Let's go check it out." He sighed. He didn't know what she was up to which made him even less trilled to be involved in it.

"I'll come with you." Grissom said trying to sound nonchalant.

"Us too!" Sofia said, dragging Brass by the arm. Nick looked apprehensive.

"I think I'll just catch up with Greg and Sara." He gave them a puzzled look. "Y'all enjoy watch shopping."

Ideally Grissom would have liked to be alone in the jewellery store but at least Catherine had achieved the main objective and distracted Sara. Once inside Wilson and sons jeweller's Grissom silently slipped away from the rest of the group as they gathered around the vast display of timepieces. He was browsing inconspicuously in the engagement and wedding band section when one ring caught his eye. He wanted a closer look at it. He tried to catch the shop assistant's attention but was so far failing. Nervously he looked to find the rest of the group still browsing watches and tried again. He sighed when no one came to his aid and was just about to give up hope when a voice caught him off guard.

"Can I help you sir?" A tall, thin man in his late thirties – early forties stood waiting behind the counter to serve him.

"Is that the one you want to see?" Another voice came from his right hand side.

"Catherine!" He was surprised by her presence. "What are you doing here?" He asked, afraid she would bring the attention of the whole group with her thus ruining his plan.

"You are about to make one of the most important purchases in your and Sara's life, did you really think I was going to leave you alone on this?" She asked sceptically. He stared at her blankly indicating his answer was yes.

"Well I'm not. I'm not going to pick one for you or intrude I'm just her to guide you." She smiled.

"I don't need any guidance." Grissom replied stubbornly.

"Well I just want to provide a little feminine input. I really don't want Sara to have some cockroach shaped engagement ring because I know you Gil and if such a monstrosity existed you would buy it and so help me God I am not going to let you mess this up." She ranted, sensing e was less than receptive to her she added, "The one you were looking at is pretty." She smiled and nodded.

"Well thanks." He said, caught off guard. "But what about the others? I don't want them all over here while I'm doing this. It's bad enough they're in the same store!"

"Relax! Warrick is under strict instructions to keep them well and truly distracted until I return."

"You told him!" Grissom was about ready to kill her.

"No!" She was almost offended. She actually hadn't told him...yet. "I promised, didn't I?"

"Well then how did you get him to agree to distracting is co-workers?" Grissom was curious.

"Warrick knows when not to ask questions!" She said ominously. Grissom was a little frightened. "Anyway let's not keep this man waiting. Do you know Sara's ring size?"

"Well no." Grissom said. "But I did bring this." He slipped his hand in his pocket and produce a silver ring with a little amethyst stone in it. Catherine nodded her approval, she was impressed. He handed the ring to the assistant her measured it and told him Sara's size.

"Thanks." Grissom smiled at the man. "Now could I please see that ring in that size?"

"Of course sir!" The sales assistant was impressed by the man's taste. He had selected a white gold band with an emerald cut diamond, about 1 carat, with ornate detailing surrounding the stone. He retrieved the correct size from under the counter and held it out.

"That's nice!" Catherine cooed as Grissom turned the ring over in his hand. He was studying it, watching the way the light caught the stone reflecting it out across the room. It was perfect, he square cut stone would long beautiful on Sara's long, elegant fingers.

"It's perfect." He whispered. "I'll take it!"

"An excellent choice! I'll get you a box for it." The shopkeeper smiled. Catherine muffled a small excited squeal in her hand.

"Sorry." She bit her lips to stop her doing it again. "It's just so exciting!"

"Here you are sir! Congratulations whoever this is for is a lucky woman." Grissom smiled and thanked the man. "Now will you be paying in cash or by card?"

Grissom glared at Catherine who stood glued to the spot. She looked back at him innocently.

"Go away!" She said plainly. She pouted but respected his wish for her not to know the value of Sara's engagement ring and walked off. She had a fairly good idea of the price anyway.

-

After a four hour shopping marathon everyone was glad to see the sofas in the penthouse when they got home. Warrick's arms ached at the shoulders from carrying all of Catherine's bags but at least he had gotten a new watch out of it. Sara was quite pleased with her purchases too. Under the watchful and perhaps forceful guidance of Catherine she had brought home some new pants, two new tops, an evening dress and some new shoes. She had also picked up a few items in the music and book store. However no one was quite as happy with their purchases as Grissom was. The small, black velvet box pressed against his leg from inside his pocket reminding him of just how special this trip was going to be.

"Not that that experience wasn't great, because it was!" Greg said sarcastically. "But how about tomorrow we let someone else pick what we do. Maybe even do something fun for members of the group with a Y chromosome?"

"Ok." Catherine agreed. The two new pairs of shoes, two evening dresses, various other items of clothing and pieces of jewellery combined with the hot piece of gossip and mission Grissom had given her meant she was too happy to even care. "Tomorrow's activities are your choice."


	9. Brunch and a mini revelation

**A/N: **The update as promised. And a note to say that over the next two weeks I will have more free time to write but less internet availability, but I'll try and posted ASAP.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate each one I get. Please let me know how you think the story is going so far and any suggestions you might have or things you think might happen in the story...I'm always interested to know.

* * *

Today was the best day of the trip so far, at least, in Greg's opinion it was. He had woke up at around 11 and stretched contentedly in his bed. The yellow morning sun poured through a crack in the curtains and making his room a bright and cheerful place. This was great; it was the first morning he had woke up and not been tired because he barely slept with excitement, or jet lagged, or hungover and there was absolutely no need for him to rush to get ready. Best of all he got to decide what the group would do today. Anything he wanted. Linking his hands behind his head he smiled to himself. Yeah, today was going to be the best day yet.

-

Catherine woke up gently that morning, a familiar thudding sounded in her right ear. Bringing her hand up she traced random patterns on a sleeping Warrick's chest. The clock on her bedside table read 11.15; she had had a wonderful sleep. Maybe it was because she was exhausted after their shopping marathon and late dinner or maybe it was because she had spent the night curled up in Warrick's strong arms. For the first time since they arrived they had enjoyed a long lie in, without one of them having to get up and sneak back into their own room.

She lay for a while thinking about the previous day, about Grissom and Sara secretly living together and Grissom's plan to propose. The more she thought about it the more she thought that she and Warrick should come clean about their relationship. Why were they keeping it a secret anyway? And why should they spend the rest of their well deserved vacation sneaking around like teenagers? She had decided they would tell the group. She would inform Warrick as soon as he woke up, but for now she would let him sleep because he just looked so unbelievably adorable when he was asleep. The only concern she had was when would be the best time to tell the group, she didn't want to steal Grissom's thunder after all. The only option she could think of was to talk to Grissom at the first chance she got. After all he had come clean to her before anyone else; perhaps she owed him the same courtesy.

That being decided she closed her eyes again and enjoyed this peacefully time lying beside her boyfriend.

-

Next door to Catherine and Warrick a clueless Texan snored contentedly. He never usually slept this late but he was on vacation, who was to know.

-

Grissom was lying awake in bed, propped up on his side watching the rise and fall of Sara's ribs as she slept. Her hair was spread all over the pillow in which her face was buried, as unconventional as it may seem, to Grissom this was a most beautiful sight. He had hardly slept all night and when he did it was restless, like a child on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa Claus he was just too excited to sleep.

As he watched her he went over the plan again and again in his head. It had been a risk including Catherine, even though she was one of his best friends there was no denying her insatiable appetite for gossip. But he trusted her and he would need help with his delicate plan. More than once he had questioned his sanity over this, but every time he did thoughts of Sara would creep in and re-convince him. The thought of slipping that ring, which was currently hidden very deep inside the pocket of his empty suitcase, onto Sara's finger and seeing the look in her eyes when he asked her was all the motivation one man could ever need.

She stirred slightly in her sleep flinging one of her arms up over her head, narrowly missing his face as she did so. He chuckled quietly to himself and rolled back to the safety of his side of the bed.

-

"Ok so I'm confused." Sofia was sitting up in bed beside Jim both of them in their underwear, both of them reading a book.

"Why? The guy use a big word or something?" Brass chuckled, earning himself a sharp slap on the arm.

"Asshole!" She muttered, though she couldn't help but laugh. "No I'm confused about the situation we're in. I mean, we haven't officially told anyone we're a couple, but everyone sort of unofficially kind of knows. So how do we act?"

Brass stared at her blankly. He sensed this was one of those types of things that women got all flustered over that men just didn't understand at all. He blinked.

"Do we act like a couple and just expect everyone to figure it out and not mention it? Or do we come out and tell them? But if they already know, that would be redundant. I don't want them to think that we don't think they know when they know."

He blinked again. Not one word of that had made any sense to him.

"Not one word of that made any sense to me." Sofia let out a frustrated sigh and rolled her eyes. _'Men!'_

"I guess we could just act naturally around them, like a couple, and not mention anything about it unless someone confronts us. That way we are not denying that fact that we are in a relationship or telling our friends something they clearly already know." She nodded happily.

Still unsure as to what the hell she was talking about Jim smiled and nodded then returned to his reading.

-

It was still some time before the occupants of the penthouse left their rooms. Slowly but surely however they did make their way to the communal area. Brass and Sofia were the first ones out as they had been up the longest and could no longer deny their desire for coffee and breakfast foods. They used the phone in the kitchen to call down and order a massive room service breakfast for everyone. Strictly speaking it was more like brunch time but they do say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, not to mention it was Jim's favourite. They figured the guys would thank them and that the smell of bacon would probably lure them from their rooms.

Grissom and Sara surfaced while they were on the phone; they looked positively thrilled with the idea of breakfast coming as they sat down on one of the couches together. Next Greg popped his head out the door and quickly popped it back inside once he realised that everyone in the living room was dressed and he wasn't. Five minutes later he had pulled on some clothes and rejoined them.

"Morning everybody!" He sang in his usual cheerful voice.

"Good morning." Sara sang back, only half mocking him. There was a knock at the door signalling the arrival of breakfast. Brass was up and to the door in a flash. He thanked and tipped the waiter who had pushed in a trolley filled with various items of breakfast food.

"Breakfast is served. It's a buffet by the way." He grinned cheekily as he filled two plates, one for him and one for Sofia and carried them to the living area. The rest of the group jumped up to help themselves.

Just as Brass and Sofia had predicted the smell of bacon wafting into Nick's room brought him out into the open. Pulling on his jeans from the night before and a t-shirt he walked out towards the smell.

"Good morning!" Greg called excitedly from behind a heaped plate of food.

"You're right it's a good morning I smell bacon!" Nick smiled and helped himself to a plate. "Whose idea was this?" He asked fully prepared to bear hug that person.

"Sofia and Brass ordered it in when they got up." Sara informed him from the couch before devouring a forkful of vegetarian omelette.

"Good call!" Nick smiled.

"It really was." Agreed Catherine who had just came out of her room and been greeted by the delicious aroma of the food.

"Yeah, you should probably tell Warrick to come on here before he misses it all." Nick said, piling more bacon onto his plate and making his way to the couch.

"What?" Catherine's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Warrick is in his room, he's probably still asleep...I don't know." She babbled.

"Oh right, ok." Nick grinned. "Must have been another Warrick Brown you were talking to this morning."

"Oh yeah...that...Warrick woke up early and there was no one out here so he came into see if I was awake." She nodded satisfied that her answer sounded plausible.

"And you were telling him how cute he looked when he was asleep." Nick chuckled, as did everyone else.

"I...well...I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing going on between me and Warrick."

"Yeah right!" Greg scoffed into his orange juice. "And Brass and Sofia aren't hooking up." The group erupted into laughter. Well all except a red faced Catherine and a blushing Brass. Sofia was just relieved that she had an answer to the question how she should act around Brass on this vacation.

"What's going on out here? Is anyone up?" Warrick walked out of Catherine's room in nothing but his boxer shorts and a t-shirt. "Oh hey everyone's up!" He smiled nervously then looked at Catherine.

"I was up earlier and I...went into Cath's room to...see if she had..." He stuttered.

"Give it up Rick, it seems they already know." Catherine sighed as she helped herself to some breakfast. At least now she knew that her friends knew and didn't have to worry about stealing Grissom's thunder by announcing it.

"You guys knew huh?" Warrick smiled.

"Of course we did." Sofia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah Warrick I mean, we're trained investigators. You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on us." Greg scoffed. Grissom and Sara shared a sly grin.

"Yeah well at least now it's out in the open I won't have to get up early in the morning to sneak around anymore." Warrick retorted sitting down beside Catherine with a heaped plate. She smiled and squeezed his knee.

"Great. Well unless anyone else has any secrets they want to confess right now then I suggest we talk about something else." Brass suggested. "Like...what we're going to do today?"

"Oh I believe that's my decision." Greg grinned.

"Oh God!" Catherine moaned as she wondered what kind of torture Greg was going to put them through as revenge for yesterday. Greg quickly shot her a dirty look then continued talking.

"Well at first I was going to do nothing. Just sit around the suite; maybe go to the beach or the pool or something. You know, just have a lazy, relaxing day. But then on the way back from dinner last night I saw this." He pulled out a flyer from his pocket and held it up before them. A picture of a lone elephant appeared on the cover along with the writing 'Andulela Safari Park'

They all knew this was coming. From the day they decided to come to Cape Town they knew that it would mean bring the boy Tarzan to see the elephants. After the previous day's events it would be a refreshing change.

"That's not a bad idea Greg." Catherine sounded surprised.

"It sounds like real fun." Nick was starting to agree with Greg's thinking that this would be the best day yet.

"Awesome!" Greg cheered, bouncing with joy that everyone liked his idea. "So when do you want to leave?"

"Well I think we're all pretty full after breakfast so why don't we take an hour or so to digest and get ready?" Grissom reasoned. An hour seemed far too long to wait for Greg, but it was only fair so he agreed.

-

As everyone headed off to get ready Catherine managed to corner Grissom in the kitchen while he was tidying up.

"Hello Catherine." Grissom smiled, though he was slightly unnerved by the determined look in her eyes.

"Gil I just want to talk to you about the whole me and Warrick situation. I was going to tell you about it sooner but I didn't want to jinx it, you know?" She knew very well that he did.

"We're not in violation of any rules in the lab are we?" She asked.

"No." Grissom shook his head. "As long as I'm submitting Warrick's evaluations and he answers to me as his supervisor then you're nothing more than his colleague." Catherine breathed a sigh of relief.

"Which reminds me..." He continued. "When we go back to work my relationship with Sara will be out in the open so I wanted to ask if you would act as her supervisor? It wouldn't really be anything more tan filling out the occasional evaluation form and dealing with any disciplinary matters that probably won't even happen."

"Of course!" She replied. "No problem."

"While we're on the subject...are you going to fill me in on this plan of yours?"

"I told you Catherine. I will give you details as and when you need them." He answered frankly. She glared at him. That simply was not good enough.

"Come on Gil. Give me something!" She pressed him for information.

"No!"

"Please?"

"No!" He said firmly.

"How do you expect me to help if I don't know what I'm helping with?" She huffed.

"Alright." He sighed. "I need some time to myself to organise some things, maybe tomorrow you could arrange it that we weren't doing anything taxing. And maybe do something with Sara so she would notice if I disappeared for an hour or two?"

"That's more like it." She gave him a satisfied smile. "That I can do." She already had the perfect idea in her head.

"Great. Can I go now please?" He asked hoping there was nothing else she was going to torture him over.

"Yes, you may go." She said sarcastic notes decorated her voice.

"Thank you." He smiled as he walked passed her towards his room and the sanctuary of Sara.

She was busy applying sunscreen when he returned to the room. He walked up beside her and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" She smiled.

"No reason." He smiled back. "Do you need some help with that?" He asked taking the bottle from her.

"Thank you." She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's with you? You're looking at me with a big goofy smile on your face and sappy eyes." She chuckled as he massaged the lotion onto her shoulders and down her back.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I'm just having a great time here. And a great time with you. I really love you Sara." He gushed.

"I love you too." She smiled and planted a cheeky kiss on his lips. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." He nodded, putting the lid back on her bottle of factor 30. She always hated having to wear the stuff and resented the fact that she didn't tan very well but he loved her porcelain skin. Plus this gave him the chance to touch her flesh a good few times a day when they were out in the sun.

"Alright then, let's go see some elephants...don't forget your hat!" She called back over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

-

Greg was sitting alone in the living room impatiently waiting for everyone else. His head snapped round and his eyes widened with glee when Sara and Grissom's door opened.

"Hey Greggo. Are you ready?" Sara asked sarcastically, laughing at her young friend.

"Where did you get the binoculars Greg?" Grissom asked curiously.

"I packed them." He smiled proudly. "When I found out there were a lot of safari parks I thought I should bring them just in case."

"Alright." Grissom's brow furrowed. "You do know elephants are really big Greg...giraffes too. I doubt you'll need binoculars to see them." He scoffed.

"Well what if they're really far away?" Was Greg sharp comeback. "Besides I'm sure there are lots of little animals at the safari park too and I'm going to see them all." He said smugly, patting his binoculars.

"Aw man I wish I'd brought my binoculars too." Nick moaned when he saw Greg's. Greg threw another smug look at Grissom who sighed and shook his head.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked.

"Don't ask." Grissom and Sara said in unison.

Catherine was mildly taken aback by their answer but decided it was probably for the best as she saw Greg demonstrating the power and features of his binoculars for Nick. She rolled her eyes those two could be so childish sometimes.

To the left of the room a door click and Brass and Sofia exited their bedroom.

"Whoa Grissom...where'd you get that hat?" Brass sniggered when he saw him. "Did you find it or does someone really hate you enough to buy it for you?" Giggles passed through the group like a classroom.

"Well I like it." Sara said defiantly, sticking up for her man. "It's...quirky." Even she couldn't bring herself to say nice.

"You would." Warrick muttered to Catherine who slapped him in the arm, though she couldn't help but grin at his comment. If only he knew.

"Laugh all you want Jim, but it is practical. You think you would invest in one yourself, what with all that exposed skin on top of your head." He smirked. Everyone looked at each other. Had Grissom just made a joke at someone's expense? Their boss Grissom? And successfully? Jim's face went red and he glared at his friend, unable to think of a witty retort.

"If everyone is done being childish here..." Sofia stepped in. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes!" Shouted Greg, jumping out of his seat at lightning speed.


End file.
